Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stake Decreased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 14,503 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.17% of Northrop Grumman worth $120,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after purchasing an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $3.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $474.48. The company had a trading volume of 441,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 984,069. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $460.10 and a 200 day moving average of $465.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 55.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $497.23.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.